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Chapter 2 - Part 4 - Qualities And Drawbacks - Section O
Obligation Some rights are accompanied by duties. An Obligation must be followed to various degrees and grants a number of points depending on the strictness of its dictates. Members of secret societies or special agencies (like Wolfram & Hart or Gunn's gang) often have an Obligation to their group. Failure to fulfill one's duty can lead to trouble - demotion, loss of job and health benefits, harsh words . . . sometimes it can even be downright dangerous to say "no," particularly if you work for some not-so-pleasant demonic senior partners. Minimal 0-POINT DRAWBACK Obeying the basic precepts of the organization or creed and not betraying its members are the highlights here. This is worth no points. The typical member of Gunn's vampire-hunting gang was under this type of Obligation. He could refuse to fight and walk away at any time (as long as he could find another place to crash). Important 1-POINT DRAWBACK Your character is expected to routinely risk himself for the organization, and go above the basic precepts of membership. An Important Obligation is worth one point. Major 2-POINT DRAWBACK The welfare of the organization is placed above that of your character. He is always on call and does not have time to pursue a normal job (unless it's a cover for the real assignment) or much of a personal life. The penalties for disobedience or selfishness are severe, and may include death. This is worth two points. Your typical employee of W&H has this level of Obligation. Total 3-POINT DRAWBACK Your character must be totally devoted to the group. He is even expected to die for the organization, should that be necessary. Missions are extremely hazardous, and he is constantly in danger of imprisonment, torture, or execution. This is worth three points. Occult Investigator 4-POINT QUALITY The Angelverse is full of things humankind was not meant to know - Occult Investigators make it their business to study these things. A lot of them end up in New England asylums, or dead, or worse. The survivors learn a lot of more-or-less useful stuff, from the initiation rites of the Scourge (beyond listening to some long-winded speech laden with anti-half-breed bigotry) to the best places in town to find those hard-to-find tomes. Their knowledge also makes them better able to overcome their fears (or maybe they are a little bit too insane to be afraid anymore). Occult Investigators get a +1 to any two mental Attributes (Intelligence, Perception, or Willpower) and a +2 bonus to the Occultism Skill. Furthermore, they get a +1 bonus to Fear Tests, thanks to their familiarity with the strange and unusual (whether or not they themselves are strange and unusual). When presented with an opportunity to learn something supernatural - stopping to gather a few ancient scrolls as the temple starts to collapse, for example - they must do it unless they make a Willpower (doubled) roll, with penalties of -1 to -5, depending on how valuable the find is. Occult Library In the fight against the supernatural, it's not necessarily who you know that matters, it's what tomes you have access to. Characters who want to know what they are up against, or practice the dark arts, should have at least a book or two on the subject - this isn't the kind of thing you can make up as you go along, at least not if you want to live long (or keep all your body parts intact). The larger the character's library is, the more this Quality costs. Various levels are presented. Keep in mind that if one Cast Member (or Guest Star) has a big Occult Library, the other characters may benefit from it, but the owner has some control over it (i.e., they are his books and he may not want to share every time the other characters feel like doing some occult research). Offering a waffle iron in exchange probably won't cut it. Sometimes it's good to have one's own stash of arcane lore. Minimal 1-POINT QUALITY Your character has one, count it, one book on the occult, and maybe a few scribbled notes his Uncle Adam Sinclair left behind. The book has some 11-20 spells (your Director secretly rolls a D10 and adds 10 to the result); each time your character researches a spell successfully mark it off. Eventually, he knows all the spells in the book and there are no more. One book is not enough to help him much with research into the identity of monsters or demons, so research rolls are at a -3 penalty. This level costs one point. Good 2-POINT QUALITY The character has a modest occult library, with several books on assorted esoteric subjects, maybe even the Time-Life series. This library gives no bonus or penalty to research rolls, and holds 31-40 (D10 + 30) spells all told. Cost is two points. Impressive 3-POINT QUALITY A good collection, including some very rare tomes of hidden lore. Rolls to identify monsters are at a +1 bonus and as many as 60 (D10 + 50) spells can be researched. Cost is three points. Amazing 5-POINT QUALITY Wesley's collection of rare books qualifies. Monster research rolls are at +2 and pretty much any number of spells can be contained there. A character with such a library should have a minimum Occultism Skill 3, unless he just doesn't read and likes to collect books for their gruesome binding materials. This level costs five points. Category:Rules